Soleimani assassination blowback

Is Trump not going to announce, a la his Syrian disaster, that we're going to secure the oil fields?

Jesus.

The Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents the interests of the United States in Iran, has been called upon to convey messages between the two countries following the killing of an Iranian general by a US air strike.

[...]

The Iranian foreign ministry tweeted that it had summoned officials from the Swiss embassy to express outrage at the “assassination of General Soleimani”, saying it was a “blatant example of American state terrorism”, reports the Swiss news agency, Keystone-SDA.

[...]

"The chargé d'affaires was summoned in connection with the protecting power mandate under which Switzerland represents the interests of the United States in Iran and which also allows a diplomatic channel of communication to be maintained between the US and Iran. The Swiss communication channel is fulfilling its function."

The statement added: "In view of recent developments in the region, Switzerland calls on both sides to avoid any further escalation."

  Swiss Info

A Swiss diplomat delivered a message from the United States to Iran on Friday over the U.S. killing of senior Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, the Swiss foreign ministry said.

“The chargé d’affaires was informed of Iran’s position and in turn delivered the message of the United States,” the ministry said in an emailed response to a Reuters query, without elaborating.

Switzerland represents the interests of the United States in Iran, allowing the two countries to maintain a diplomatic channel of communication.

  National Post

I haven't yet found what the message was.

You think?  And....are we?

The airport was the scene of the air strike.  So...they won't be sneaking out that way.

Here's a thread from Narges Bajoghli, who did ten years of research with the IRGC:

"With [Soleimani's] departure and with God's power, his work and path will not cease, and severe revenge awaits those criminals who have tainted their filthy hands with his blood and the blood of the other martyrs of last night's incident," Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a statement.

The country's defense minister, Amir Hatami, said the nighttime strike ordered by President Trump would be met with a "crushing" response.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that he discussed the operation afterwards with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Chinese Politburo Member Yang Jiechi, telling them that "the U.S. remains committed to de-escalation."

  WaPo

You've got a funny way of showing it.

Soleimani joined Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a young man and took control of the Quds Force, its special operations wing, in the late 1990s.

Under his command, the force built alliances across the region by paying for weapons and providing strategic guidance. As a talismanic figure in that movement, Soleimani was regularly photographed on visits to affiliated militias in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.

The U.S. strike appeared to have killed some of their most important operatives. Among those who died in the convoy were Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, a powerful Iraqi militia leader better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes.

[...]

[Soleimani] will be succeeded by his deputy in the Quds Force, Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, according to Iranian state media.

[...]

As Friday morning wore on, the responses from Iran’s paramilitary allies rolled in. In Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah issued condolences for Soleimani’s “martyrdom” and urged Shiite militia factions in Iraq not to let his death “go to waste.”

Moqtada al-Sadr, a firebrand Iraqi Shiite cleric and militia leader, used his Twitter account to order fighters from his Mahdi Army “to be ready.” Formed in the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the group gained notoriety for its attacks on U.S. troops before it was officially disbanded in 2008.

Trump's new slogan: Make the Mahdi Army great again.

Iraq’s leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, condemned the U.S. airstrike on Friday and called on all parties to practice restraint.

[...]

“These events and more indicate the country is heading toward very difficult times. We call on all concerned parties to behave with self restraints and act wisely,” he said.

For its part, Russia said the killing was reckless and would fuel tension in the region and offered condolences to its ally, Iran.

[...]

The attack, which [Secretary of Defense Mark] Esper said was authorized by Trump, raises fresh questions about the president’s approach to the Middle East. While Trump has employed bellicose rhetoric and authorized several strikes against the Syrian government, an ally of Tehran, he has repeatedly voiced his desire to get the United States out of costly wars in the Middle East.

They all say that.  And they all open new fronts.

 Also...

If anything will shake Trump's base, it'll be that.

But, he is, of course, simply spouting ridiculous puffery.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

UPDATE:

One of the largest populations of Iranians outside Iran is in Los Angeles: